Monday, November 16, 2009

Ethan is an absolutely wonderful baby! He rarely complains and is a happy little guy. He is still working on not being a night owl but it is getting better. I think we are finally getting into a routine.

Each and every day I count the blessings that have been given to us. I have an absolutely wonderful husband who does everything he can to help and is so supportive. He takes Ethan after he gets home from work so I can rest. And then I have this little angel sent from above that I cannot take my eyes off of. I'm in awe each and every moment I look at him. He is absolutely precious... he is perfect in my eyes.

The other thing that gets me is how in the world he fit in my belly! I set him on my belly and it just doesn't seem feasible.

Anywho, we are looking forward to Ethan's first bath tonight and he finally has his newborn pictures tomorrow night. We had to wait for the photographer to get back from a business trip so we couldn't get them right away, but that's ok.

We will be heading to Minnesota this weekend for a wedding and to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We haven't had a holiday with them for some time so we thought this was a great time to go! Ethan is small enough that traveling long distances in a car is easier than a year from now. But wish us luck anyway! Fortunately, Ethan loves his car seat and the car.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Ethan Larry Marshall was born on November 3, 2009 at 11:57 am! He weighed in at 7 lbs, 8.9 oz and is 19 (and 1/4) inches long. Along with the pregnancy, the birth of little Ethan was no easy task either.

Due to me having some pregnancy induced hypertension, my OB decided it was best to induce me. So, we went in on Tuesday morning at 5 am to get the process started. Never mind that Jordan and I barely slept that night and woke up at 1:30 am, got ready, laid around, and then went to Perkins for breakfast (we were the only ones there most of the time) before going to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital, they hooked me up to all the monitors. I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes apart, which I had for several days but they were never painful. My only problem with many of the contractions is I had trouble breathing. I even went in to the hospital on Sunday, Nov 1st because of it. Nobody seemed too concerned about it and it was a very unusual thing, so I was sent home.

Anywho, I got started on Pitocin close to 7 am to hopefully improve those contractions since Mr. Marshall was still very high and there had been no changes to bring me closer to labor. The pitocin did make my contractions stronger, but I still never had any pain with them. However, I had an increased shortness of breath and my heart rate would increase with each and every contraction. The OB thought it was a pain response and tried some pain medications. After that didn't help, they tried an epidural in hopes of relaxing some of my muscles in my abdomen and chest. It helped for about an hour or so. My blood pressure remained high through all of this.

Soon, everything really got intense. My heart rate started racing in the 160s beats per minute with each contraction. My difficulty breathing continued to get worse. And then I started having a "vasovagal" response where my heart rate and my blood pressure would suddenly drop with each contraction. Jordan told me one of my blood pressures was 90/18. I started passing out (or close to it) with each contraction. They continued to have me smell those nasty sniffers to keep me awake.

All of this started happening around 11 am. My OB, Dr Mike (Christensian), decided to stop the pitocin and schedule a c-section for noon. But, I continued to have problems and ended up getting rushed prior to noon to have an emergency c-section. Jordan told me they taped those sniffers to their scrubs as they took me to the operating room. They also started more IVs and gave me a bunch of IV fluids to try and help my blood pressure. Even though I had an epidural, they almost put me under because I was so unstable. Thankfully, I had an epidural in even before I had an labor pains because they were able to keep me awake during the c-section. Otherwise, they would have put me to sleep.

And what about little Ethan? He never decompensated throughout the whole ordeal and was a little champ in there! Despite the craziness, Jordan was also able to be by my side the whole time (if I was put under, he wouldn't have been able to be there) and to witness the birth of his son.

Fortunately, I don't remember a lot of what happened during my episodes of passing out. Things are even a little vague from the operating room. But, I do remember hearing the first cry of our little Ethan and that he for sure was a boy. And I remember Jordan bringing him over to let me see Ethan for the first time. Those will never be forgotten.

I asked Dr Mike the next day what in the world happened. He said he thought that Ethan was just too big. Ethan was pushing up on my diaphragm which was also pushing on my heart and my major blood vessels in my chest, abdomen, and pelvis that it was just too much.

Here we are almost a week later with our precious little angel. He is such a good baby (so far). He does have his nights and days mixed up but that has improved and we hope that he will continue to sleep better at night and stay awake more during the day. Ethan is absolutely perfect in every way. We couldn't ask for a bigger or better blessing. He truly is a gift from above, and we know that he is being protected by all our loved ones up there!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Yes, I'm aware of writing in the blog... or the lack there of. I have pics from the last few weeks but they haven't made it on here, or even onto the computer. And at this time, it kind of seems like a moot point to show them. Or maybe not. I'm sure we'll take a pic before we go to the hospital. Yes, to the hospital.

I'M GETTING INDUCED TOMORROW!

It's really coming! I've been diagnosed with gestational hypertension, or pregnancy induced high blood pressure. I've had it for the last few weeks and it's really starting to get high so they've decided it's best I deliver sooner than later. We are so excited, terrified, nervous, apprehensive, etc., etc., etc...

Plus, I've been contracting for the last 24 hours, though the contractions have finally calmed down a bit this afternoon. They were never painful, but definitely there and uncomfortable. Plus, they had pretty much been every 2-4 minutes apart since they started at 4 pm yesterday. I think they're finally about 5-10 minutes apart. Stupid braxton-hicks contractions. Sleep was almost non-existent last night for me, and Jordan slept like a baby.

That is the update! We will try and keep you informed of everything.

Please send lots of thoughts and prayers our way. I have a feeling it's going to be a very long haul!

About

Hello to all our family and friends! Most of you know us so we don't have to explain ourselves too much. Since so many of you live far away, we decided to share our days with you. Fertility/infertility has been a struggle for us for so many years. With the help of infertility treatments, we now have three beautiful and healthy children! Welcome and enjoy!